Why would this be different from tailors?  Other than inlays tailors work with cloth all the time, but there are different schools of thought on the benefits of finer fabrics.

I think the best explanation is that more often than not shirts directly touch the skin (unlike a suit -- except for some trousers), so the cloth quality is more of a factor.

my feeling on shirting is that the lighter the goods the more valuable are the higher thread counts. An example is in a royal oxford a 170's two ply is silly. The same can't be said for a voile or similarly light weight pce of goods. I find in a light wgt piece the higher thread coount gives the cloth more body. I just looked at an exquisite collection of Italian cloth. I find myself stuck in the blues and whites though.

Last edited by beantown (2006-04-14 17:42:09)

I have some shirts made of  Bonfanti 70 x 1 / 120 x 2 broadcloth. Really unimpressive numbers from a  marketing standpoint, but what an excellent cloth! Although the fabric is not as silky as a 200 from the top mills, it has a beautiful, crisp hand. Gang, the yarn numbers don't tell the whole story! The intrinsic quality of the cotton (including the length of the fibers) and the processing are the most important ingredients. For example, a 1-ply fabric made of high quality cotton can be more durable and pill less than a 2-ply fabric made of poor quality cotton. Again, the numbers can be misleading.... if it were that simple!

Last edited by Cruz Diez (2006-04-15 07:45:49)

for an artisanal prodcer a la bonfanti, riva, etc to produce this type of cloth which is more of a commodity in nature belies the very concept of artisanal production. Riva makes nothing less that 200's on their own looms and outsources the rest to round out their line. I believe Bonfanti works on shuttle looms as well and I beleive that he probably makes 170's and above in house and buys the balance.Nothing wrong with the cloth. I would prefer a 120's 2 ply to a 120 x 70 though especially in lite of the minor price difference between the two. Also in my oppinion as a consumer there is nothing at all wrong with 100's 2 ply. The Thomas Mason silverline collection, while not artianally produced, is a workhorse cloth

Does anyone know if there are still Oxford cloth fabrics made in England?  I wonder
what the closest you could get to the original (though I'm sure there were serveral
incarnations of the "original") Brooks fabric the used for their button-downs?  I understand
that the fabric came from England - now, who knows where, though at least they make
the original OCBD in the USA still.    It's still good (surprisingly like the older stuff), but not quite.

i know the guys at shirtex in Montreal, decent guys. There taste ar a little forward for me. Also in general I prefer the Thomas Mason goods to those of Monti, even thought they may not be direct crossovers ( 100's v 120's ) Carl, if you had one go to cloth what would it be( under 170's )By the way hows your boxer stock?